June 5/10 22:25 pm - Nations Cup-Ville de Saguenay - Stage 3

Posted by Editoress on 06/5/10

Ville de Saguenay - Stage 3 In cold and wet conditions, last year's Coupe des Nations-Ville de Saguenay overall winner Johan Lebon grabbed the third stage with a brilliant solo move 14 kilometres from the finish line. The Frenchman crossed the finish line of the 141 kilometre long with a time of 3:36:22, 22 seconds ahead of second place Marcel Meisen of Germany. The Brittany based rider felt like this was a sweet revenge after his previous day disappointment "Yesterday, I felt like the whole field was racing against me and I lost a lot of time due to frustration. So I am delighted that I could show what I am capable of today with a solo win"

David Boily and Miras Bederbekov were on a long break

Slovenian Luka Mezgec managed to resist numerous attacks from the Colombian team, and was able limit his losses in the last kilometre in order to grab the yellow leader jersey. Meanwhile, overnight leader Daniel Teklehaimanot of Eritrea lost over 16 minutes, suffering from the cold and wet conditions. Mezgec now holds a lead of 16 seconds over Colombian Camilo Suarez. Arnaud Papillon of Canada moved up to fourth place overall, while David Boily leads the King of the Mountain Classification.

The peloton

The best North American of the day was again Canadian Arnaud Papillon in eighth place, 33 seconds down on Lebon. More importantly, the Longueuil (Quebec) based rider moved up to fourth overall, only 19 seconds down on Mezgec. "I felt better as the race went on, and I have to thank my teammates from the national team for helping me getting into good position at the foot of the hill. I feel good, and will surely give a good fight tomorrow to climb on the overall podium"

Canada's David Boily was very active at the front, escaping with Kazak Miras Bederbekov for over 100 kilometres. He also grabbed the King of the Mountain competition lead and will wear the polka dot jersey tomorrow. "I was angry at myself for missing the winning move yesterday, so I just decided to attack today and see what happens. I was hoping a group would catch us, something that did happen after a 100 kilometres, but the pack reacted and we got caught with about 30 kilometres to go. I feel good and will try to get on the attack tomorrow again to defend my jersey and for a stage result."

Stage winner Johan Lebon

Tomorrow will be the final stage of the four day event, a 128 kilometre battle in the streets of Chicoutimi.